Fourth of July: BBQ, Friends, Blackberry & a Phillies Win

It was a typical Fourth of July Barbecue at the neighbors' house. (Actually, it was a cookout, but when it comes to July 4th, everyone bills it a BBQ.) Hot dogs, hamburgers, shrimp, chicken, cold irons for the adults, cold juice boxes for the little ones. Kids swimming. Grownups talking. Around 9 P.M., someone brought out fireworks. Nothing too heavy, mind you, but on The Fourth even sparklers cause a splash.

So everyone gathered on or around the deck to ooh and ahh the show.

Everyone, but us. We slinked off to a shadowy corner, Lite in hand, and created our own bright glare -- that of the trusty Blackberry. Phillies and Mets. All tied at two in the bottom of the ninth. We had been casually checking for updates throughout the party. It was a big game, to be sure. The Phillies always play at home on July 4th. Their post game fireworks display is widely heralded as the best in baseball. And, of course, they, we, everyone hates the Mets. (Even former Met Keith Hernandez, it would seem.) To raise the stakes even higher, Mets' ace Johan Santana was pitching the opening set of the four game series. The Phillies, on the other hand, countered with someone named J.A. Happ. (Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?)

By the time the Blackberry fired up the gamecast, it was 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth and the Phillies had a runner on second with two outs. Shane Victorino was up against Duaner Sanchez. Foul boul, strike one. Ball one. Foul ball, strike two. Sensing extra innings, we began to plot our return to the party. (Making a stop in the garage for a fresh iron seemed like the logical excuse for our absence.) Walking to the garage, we looked at the Blackberry. WOO-WOO! Victorino doubled in the winning run. The Phillies had defeated the Mets on the Fourth of July!

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Below are the 2007 Fourth of July Fireworks at Citizens Bank Park: